Crosland to Create Charlotte’s First New Uptown Apartments in 5 Years

Charlotte, N.C., May 9, 2008 – Crosland LLC, one of the Southeast’s leading real estate companies, is creating a new midrise luxury apartment building at Trade and Graham streets in uptown Charlotte. The $100 million project will fill a gap in one of the nation’s hottest center-city residential districts, providing for-rent housing with amenities and finishes on par with the numerous condominiums being built within Charlotte’s downtown core.

500 West Trade will see the complete redevelopment of a 2.7-acre uptown block now occupied by the vacant Polk building and adjacent surface parking. Crosland, and its joint venture partner Trinity Capital Advisors, originally envisioned two phased high-rise buildings. Plans have shifted to a single, eight-story, 400-unit building that will comprise the entire block. Crosland has secured a capital commitment from a longtime institutional partner, and plans to proceed with demolition in late summer and construction this fall. Residences are expected to be available for move-in by late 2009.

“The appeal of urban living in uptown Charlotte is obvious, but until now, the only new projects were condominiums,” said David Ravin, president of Crosland’s residential division. “We’re creating a luxury-living option that offers all the amenities and conveniences of Charlotte’s latest condo towers, but without the ownership strings attached.”

Plans call for the building to enclose a private half-acre courtyard that will include a large resort-style saltwater pool, along with several garden areas and additional water features. One end of the courtyard will have a two-story resident gym complete with a rock-climbing wall, while a covered, tiered seating area within the courtyard will enable sporting events and movies to be shown on a large video screen.

A second pool planned for the roof of the building will provide panoramic views of the Charlotte skyline and be surrounded by covered seating areas with grilling stations. Also on the rooftop, a vaulted, two-story resident lounge will offer a gourmet kitchen for resident events and private functions. A third rooftop amenity will be a resident business center, conference room and media center with an outdoor viewing terrace overlooking Trade Street. Back at ground level, retail shops and a leasing center will front Trade Street.

“The City of Charlotte is pleased to have played a role in this project, receiving a market return for its land, and we look forward to immediate progress,” said Tom Flynn, economic development director for the City of Charlotte. “500 West Trade will set the tone for that immediate area which is slated to be home to the future multi-modal Charlotte Gateway Station combining Amtrak and Charlotte Area Transit System lines.”

The announcement of 500 West Trade continues a wave of high-profile urban infill projects in Charlotte for Crosland, including:

• Alpha Mill, a historically sensitive, 167-apartment redevelopment of Charlotte’s second cotton mill, completed in 2007.
• Tranquil Court on Selwyn, a mixed-use project in Myers Park with 109 condominium residences, offices and retail now under development.
• Crosland Greens, the forthcoming redevelopment of Crosland’s former Scaleybark Road headquarters into a mixed-use, transit-oriented village.

“Locations like 500 West Trade are extremely rare, so we’ve been carefully studying the site and development options for a couple of years, and we’re confident we’ve found just what the market is looking for,” said Steve Mauldin, Crosland’s senior vice president of mixed-use development. “500 West Trade will help fill the gap between Trade and Tryon and Gateway Village, making it a very attractive and pedestrian-friendly central location.”

Residences will be available in one-, two- and three-bedroom configurations, ranging in size from 600 to 1,300 square feet with rents from $900 to $2,000 a month. Finishes will be urban upscale, with plans calling for granite and quartz countertops, vessel sinks, exotic hardwood and tile flooring, sculpted carpeting, crown molding, upgraded cabinets and lighting, and stainless-steel appliances. Floor-to-ceiling windows will accentuate the 10- and 14-foot ceiling heights.

In keeping with its reputation for attention to detail, Crosland is also incorporating sound-reducing construction techniques, environmentally friendly plumbing and lighting fixtures, high-efficiency air conditioners and heaters, convenient loading elevators for moving, bicycle storage, climate-controlled storage units, and appealing nighttime lighting to ensure the building adds to the vibrancy of uptown Charlotte. A seven-story parking deck will provide 560 secure parking spaces for residents.

The building architect is The Housing Studio, which teamed up with Crosland to win the Pillars of the Industry award from the National Association of Homebuilders for the Apartments at Birkdale Village.

Crosland is currently developing 14 multifamily communities in the Carolinas, Virginia and Florida, as well as other urban infill projects throughout the Southeast. The company earned a 2007 design excellence award from Multi-Housing News for its most recent urban infill residences, the Alpha Mill apartments just a mile from 500 West Trade.